“Haven’t you made a mistake?” she inquired. The young man was changing his socks, with his back to us, and he looked back over his shoulder.
“Sorry!” he said. “Didn’t like to ask you to go out. Haven’t any place else to go, you know.”
“Aren’t you putting on my nephew’s socks?”
“Extraordinary!” he said. “Did you notice that?”
“I’ll trouble you to take them off, young man.”
“Well,” he said reflectively, “I’ll tell you what we’ll do: I’ll take off these socks if he’ll return what he’s got on that belongs to me. I don’t remember exactly, but I’m darn sure of his underwear and his breeches. You see, while you good people at home are talking democracy we’re practicing it, and Sands’ idea is the best yet. He swaps an entire outfit for a pair of socks. Even the Democratic Party can’t improve on that.”
Tish was very thoughtful during the remainder of the afternoon, but she brightened somewhat when, later on, we sat on the steps of a building watching Charlie Sands and a number of others going through what Major Williams called setting-up exercises. She was greatly interested and made notes in her memorandum book. I have a copy of the book before me now. The letters T, S, A and B stand respectively for Toes, Stomach, Arms and Back. Arms and Back. I shall not quote all Tish’s notes, but this one, for instance, is illustrative of her thorough methods:
“Lying on B. in mud, H. flat on ground, L. rigidly extended: Rise L. in air six times. Retaining prone position rise to sitting position without aid of A., but using S. muscles. Repeat six times. [Note: Director uses language unfitting a soldier and a gentleman. Report to the Secretary of War.]”
She recorded the other movements with similar care, and after one is the thoughtful observation: “Excellent to make Lizzie look less like a bolster.”
I find all of Tish’s notes taken that day as very indicative of the thoroughness with which she does everything. For instance she made the following recommendations to be sent to the War Department: